Tantrum
Tantrum was a series of robots which entered Series 2 and 3 of Robot Wars, the latter as T 2. In Series 2, the original incarnation reached the Tug of War Trial stage before being eliminated. In Series 3, T 2 improved on its predecessor's performance, reaching the second round of its heat before losing a controversial Judges' decision to The Darke Destroyer. Versions of Tantrum Tantrum Tantrum was a red box-shaped robot powered by wheelchair motors, and featuring an unusual eight-wheeled configuration. The robot had a set of six small front wheels arranged on triangular-shaped mounts, similarly to those later found on Series 3 competitor Trident, as well as two larger wheels at the rear. Tantrum's weapons consisted of a 25mm diameter sharpened steel flail, rotating at 1,000rpm and a spring-loaded rear ramming bumper. It cost £500 and took 200 hours to construct. T II For Series 3, Tantrum was replaced by its successor, T 2 (short for Tantrum 2, and stylised as T II), a grey two-wheel drive robot which reused the original robot's chassis and much of its electronics. Amongst the improvements carried out, the most significant changes over the original Tantrum included a tank-steering mechanism and a design loosely resembling a steam locomotive. T 2's weapon took on the form of a front-mounted pneumatic lifter modelled on a locomotive cowcatcher, which was claimed by the team to be capable of lifting 300lbs (13 stone (182lbs) according to its statistics board). T 2 also featured a set of red eyes and a mohawk on its top-rear armour; these, along with the robot's shape, lead to Philippa Forrester describing it as "Thomas the Tank Engine with a punk-rocker haircut". The robot was quoted as having a top speed of 15mph. Qualification Tantrum and T 2 qualified for Series 2 and 3 respectively through attending the auditions. Following the filming of the Third Wars, the team revised T 2, initially installing an axe weapon. It was later painted orange with black spots and renamed T 2 R Special. T 2 R Special attended the qualifiers for Series 4, and was drawn in a battle against future semi-finalist Tornado. T 2 R Special lost the battle, and subsequently failed to qualify for the main competition. Robot History Series 2 Tantrum competed in Heat B. Tantrum was quick in the Gauntlet. It sped through the barrels, up the see-saw and past Sergeant Bash to complete the course in the fastest time. However, in the Tug-of-War Trial, it did not have enough grip or power and was pulled into the Pit by Dead Metal in 16.15 seconds, just two seconds behind Wheelosaurus, eliminating it from the competition. At the end of the series, the team was nominated for the Sportsmanship award, but lost out to Plunderbird 2. Series 3 In its first round, T 2 faced newcomers Vector, which never got going. Having immobilised Vector by shoving it into the wall, T 2 reversed away from Matilda, but reversed too far and drove into the pit. However, the judges ruled that Vector had been immobile long enough to be considered out before T 2 drove into the pit, therefore T 2 progressed into the next round instead. In the next round, it faced another newcomer in The Darke Destroyer. T 2 was able to control The Darke Destroyer by pushing it into the CPZ's several times, though it did take damage by driving into a flame jet and also took damage from The Darke Destroyer's blade, including buckling its front ram. T 2 pushed into The Darke Destroyer, raising its own front off the ground, but its rear-mounted wheels allowed it to push The Darke Destroyer into the side walls and almost overturn its opponent. When this failed, T 2 pulled away, only just escaped Dead Metal, and pushed The Darke Destroyer around, taking one blow that caused it to jump slightly. When cease was called, a split and controversial decision put The Darke Destroyer through, prompting some boos from the audience. Results |} |} Wins/Losses *Wins: 1 *Losses: 1 NOTE: Tantrum's Gauntlet and Trial runs are not included Series Record Tantrum Chassis.jpg|The chassis of Tantrum during construction T II.jpg|Overhead view of T 2 T2 mag.png|T 2 in the Robot Wars Magazine T II team.jpg|T 2 and its team Tantrum team.jpg|The team with T 2 in Series 3 Outside Robot Wars The Team entered Techno Games 2002 with a robot called Smash N' Grab, which competed in the Assault Course and in the football competition as Celestial Terror's teammate but they lost in the first round. It beat Quadsey in round 1 of the Assault Course but lost to Big Bro in the second round. After retiring from Robot Wars, team member Rupert Weeks set up his own online robotics shop called Gadgetnet, which sold robot kits and toys. Trivia *Team member Chris Weeks used to build pine beds which always collapsed. *Tantrum had internal fans to prevent the speed controllers overheating. *Tantrum is the first-ever robot to fall into the pit. *Originally, Tantrum was supposed to have tracks, but the team found they made the robot difficult to control. Honours Nominations *'Sportsmanship Award' - Robot Wars: The Second Wars Links *The Tantrum Website (archived) *Gadgetnet, Rupert Weeks online shop (archived) Category:UK Series competitors Category:Sportsmanship Nominees Category:Robots with Lifters Category:Robots from West Sussex Category:Robots with alternate versions Category:Robots with Spikes Category:Robots with Ramming Blades Category:Robots with Flails Category:Competitors in Techno Games Category:Robots with an equal amount of Wins and Losses Category:Robots to complete the Gauntlet Category:Robots which debuted in Series 2 Category:Robots with cameo appearances in Series 4